Online flight booking fees go sky-high

The cost of booking flights by debit or credit cards has soared over the past 18 months by a shocking 614%.

Ryanair is the main culprit, increasing fees from 70p to £5 per person each way for debit cards and £2 to £5 for credit cards, a rise of 614%, according to a report by consumer group Which?

It added Ryanair does not charge for Visa Electron bookings, but these cards are not popular, or offered by many bank accounts, and are rarely accepted abroad.

How to get a Visa Electron card and beat airline charges

The cost of booking a flight with Wizz was 70p per person, but is now £4, a 471% increase. Thomas Cook UK now charges £10 per booking for using a debit card and First Choice customers pay £2.50, when 18 months ago neither airline levied a charge.

Lorna Cowan, editor or Which? Holiday, said: 'We understand that there is a charge to airlines for taking payment for flights with debit or credit cards and that this cost will be passed on to consumers. But how can some of these airlines justify charging over 600% more than they did 18 months ago?

'The amount charged by the airlines should be reflective of the costs incurred by them. This does not appear to be the case with current charges, and we are concerned that airlines may be using them as a way of boosting profits.'

Listen to Which? spokesman Rochelle Turner explaining the consumer group's view on the increased charges (BBC Five Live)

However, Which? found it's not all bad news for consumers: bmiBaby has removed its 1% charge for paying by debit card, while Virgin Atlantic has changed its policy to charge 1.3% of the total booking for credit card payments, instead of £3 per person. On a booking costing £300 for two adults this amounts to a saving of over £2. BA doesn't charge for using a debit card to pay for flights.

Some airlines also have a policy of not charging a fee for using a Visa Electron card, including Easyjet, First Choice, Flybe, Jet2, Monarch, Ryanair and Thomson Airways.